South African Bibles

From Textus Receptus

Afrikaans

(South Africa—a form of Dutch)

Ta Biblia Ta Logia was released in 1933. It is the first Bible in Afrikaans. It was very clearly Received Text and was often compared to the King James Bible. It was revised in 1953 but was still clearly based upon the Received Text. The 1983 revision is based upon the Critical Text. The 1933-1953 Afrikaans Bible is still in print and is actively used by fundamentalists in South Africa. It is published by the Bible Society of South Africa, which owns the copyright. It is often called the Old Afrikaans Version.

Nama

(Nambia, Namabuland, Union of South Africa)

The first translation of the New Testament into the Nama language was done by German missionary, Johann Schmelen and his wife, Sara (a national). It was released in 1825. Missionary G. Kronlein (also German) undertook a new translation in the 1860s. By his specific statement his New Testament was based upon the Textus Receptus. He also consulted the German Lutheran Bible, the King James Bible, the French Olivetan Bible and the Italian Diodati Bible. He also translated the Old Testament. His work was published by the British and Foreign Bible Society. The currently published Nama Bible is a Critical Text based revision of Kronlein’s work.

Setswana

(also called Tswana and Botswana)

Zimbabwe, South Africa

Missionary Robert Moffatt (1820-1870) spent fifty years in the town of Kuruman. His daughter Mary married fellow missionary, David Livingstone. The church that he pastored is still in existence. In 1826, Moffatt producedthe first spelling book in Setswana. In 1838, he printed a New Testament in Setswana (the first purely African language to have printed Scriptures). In 1854, he released the Old Testament. The printing press used in these printings is still in use at the church. Moffatt turned Setswana into a written language. In 1857, the Wooley revision of Moffatt’s work was released. It is still in print. In 1970, a Critical Text Bible, the Central Version, was released. SINASINA (New Guinea—Simbu Province—highlands) Missionary Charles Turner spent thirty years with the Sinasina people in New Guinea. He translated the New Testament into their language. He used the Textus Receptus and the King James Bible as base texts. He completed a revision in 2009. He can be contacted at 518-642-0578.

Xhosa

(South Africa )

The Xhosa language was first placed in writing by missionaries. Under the leadership of Albert Kropf and John Appleyard a written language, grammar and dictionary was produced. A Received Text Bible was released in 1859. A Critical Text Bible was released in 1889.

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